UNITED NATIONS, Dhu-AlQa’dah 27, 1437, August 30, 2016, SPA -- The World Food Program (WFP) warned Tuesday that it urgently needs $48 million for its school meals assistance program in West and Central Africa. “Children from the very countries and regions where needs are most acute are missing out on this vital assistance,” WFP Regional Director for West Africa Abdou Dieng said in a statement. “We urge our supporters not to forget the value the school meals program brings – a key vehicle to reduce poverty, hunger and malnutrition – and not let more than a million children slip deeper or back into in poverty and hunger. We urgently need $48 million to start or continue our school meals assistance.” The statement noted that dwindling resources, shifting donor priorities and changed financing mechanisms in some countries have conspired to create a funding gap and jeopardize programs. Unless vital funding comes through in the next month, more than half a million children across Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger could begin the school year without the meals upon which they have come to rely. In most of West and Central Africa, WFP is the sole or main provider of school meals, targeting areas where hunger and malnutrition levels are highest. “In most countries in West and Central Africa – in the grip of chronic hunger and malnutrition, and increasingly affected by conflict – school meals have been a lifeline for children, as they are often the only regular and nutritious meals they receive,” Dieng said. --SPA 20:39 LOCAL TIME 17:39 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w